In Like Water in the Desert the charming, vulnerable world of the young girl Gittel, whom we have met in Ida Simons' A Foolish Virgin, is again very present. Ida Simons creates an irresistable alter ego, but an adult one this time.

Liza Miller wants to be a fashion designer, but for now she is stuck trying to sell tickets to a charity event door to door. This is how she meets the Raidings: a successful, extremely rich and somewhat unworldly family. After a daring, though well-aimed fashion advice to the mother of the family Liza is adopted in their excentric circles.

She starts to write regularly for fashion magazines, and her talent is noticed by the family. ‘Write a book about us, the Raidings,’ Daniel, the father of the household, encourages her. ‘A book that shows the privilige of getting to know us. Posterity will be grateful for a good eyewitness report.’

Liza suddenly dies when only the first chapters are finished. Daniel, defeated but confident about Liza’s gift, composes a triptych, including Liza’s chapters. A kaleidoscope of stories arises, which shows us the youth of Liza, the odd Raidings family and a selection of colourful characters. Light and humorous like A Foolish Virgin, but with sharp edges and an undeniable touch of irony, Simons again proofs her extraordinary talent.

Ida Simons wrote Like Water in the Desert as if she felt her own end approaching: in fragments, but together a whole. The author died before the completion of this work.

‘Like Water in the Desert is one of the best recent Dutch books and the posthumous proof that Ida Simons was developing as one of our most important prose writers. A Foolish Virgin is surpassed by the novel design and the stories in Like Water in the Desert. One only gets to read a new work of this high quality once in so many years. Nobody who is interested in literature can leave Like Water in the Desert unread.’ – Hans Warren, Letterkundige Kroniek (1961)